Boise Airport on record pace for passengers ahead of adding two more flights this fall
The Boise Airport set a monthly passenger record this summer, a likely sign of what’s to come the rest of the busy travel season and just ahead of two new flights arriving in the fall.
More than 423,600 passengers passed through the regional air hub in June, according to airport data, a single-month record. The total represents just the fourth time in history that the airport has eclipsed 420,000 passengers in a month, and also keeps it on track to break the annual passenger record set last year.
Nearly 4.5 million commercial air travelers flew through Boise in 2022. So far, airport passenger counts are already about 11% higher than this time last year, with totals for July and August, which an Idaho Statesman analysis shows are historically the airport’s busiest months, still yet to come.
“The place is packed, and everyone I know seems to be flying somewhere,” state Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, whose district is near the airport, said in a phone interview. “It’s the thing to do this summer.”
The airport’s passenger growth is linked to the Treasure Valley’s population increase and demonstrates high demand for flights through Boise, airport spokesperson Shawna Samuelson told the Statesman in an email.
“The Boise Airport is working hard to accommodate this influx in passengers and grow in pace with our community,” she said.
Earlier this year, the airport opened a seventh security checkpoint lane for peak travel times, Samuelson said. CLEAR, the fee-based service that moves members through security faster, also opened at the Boise Airport late last year.
A new public parking garage at the airport also is scheduled to open later this month, adding 1,100 spaces within walking distance of the terminal. And to address vehicle traffic flows in and out of the airport, a transportation study of Airport Way is underway.
After that, a new car rental center is scheduled to break ground and take about two years to finish. Construction of a new concourse that will add up to 10 more passenger gates will follow, slated for work to begin in 2026.
In the meantime, the airport, which boasts eight commercial air carriers and 23 nonstop routes, will add two more destinations. Southwest Airlines will restore a once-weekly seasonal flight between Boise and Chicago-Midway International Airport starting Sept. 9, followed by weekend service to and from Long Beach, California, starting Oct. 7.
Southwest’s two new routes will join seven other nonstop routes the airline already offers in Boise. Each will initially operate through Nov. 4, and be reviewed for when to bring them back in 2024, a Southwest spokesperson told the Statesman.
“We’re pleased with what we’re seeing and the demand for it, based on initial interest in the community,” Dan Landson said by phone of advance bookings. “We’re always watching the demand, the travel patterns, and making adjustments to meet the demand of local travelers.”
In the future, the Boise Airport aims to add nonstop flights to several East Coast cities, including Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Charlotte and Orlando, Florida. Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, as well as direct routes within Idaho, also are on the airport’s priority wish list.
This story was originally published August 3, 2023 at 11:24 AM.
